Division of Community-Based Medicine and Primary Care, 118113University of the Ryukyus Hospital, Nishihara, Nakagami, Okinawa, Japan.
Am J Hosp Palliat Care. 2021 Jul;38(7):794-799. doi: 10.1177/1049909120960708. Epub 2020 Sep 24.
Palliative care is constructed by various kinds of professionals. This study aimed to identify the challenges that dental hygienists (DHs) encountered when working with other professionals in a multidisciplinary team approach in palliative care for advanced cancer patients.
We conducted the following two studies: (1) a questionnaire-based survey for DHs who belong to Japanese Society for Oral Care (JSOC) on oral care in palliative care settings (n = 1,290), and (2) surveys on education for DHs in universities. Items in this study included the following: 1) a cross-sectional analysis of the curriculum on palliative care at 10 universities and 2) a questionnaire-based survey on palliative care education at 1 of the 10 universities (n = 75).
(1) Seventy-three percent had experience in oral care in palliative care settings. The number of DHs with ≥20 years' experience was significantly higher than those with <10 years' experience (76% vs 66%, p = 0.042). Further, 92% received no formal palliative care education, and 94% perceived a lack of knowledge on palliative care. These data did not differ based on the years of experience. (2) (a) There was no specific curriculum on the subject of palliative care in 10 universities. Lectures on palliative care were provided at 3 universities. (b) Fifty-five percent of students attended lectures on palliative care. However, 88% of them experienced anxiety, and 78% perceived few classes on palliative care.
For DHs, to positively contribute to multidisciplinary palliative care team approach, it is important to establish pregraduate and postgraduate education systems.
缓和医疗由各种专业人员构建。本研究旨在确定口腔保健师（DHs）在癌症晚期患者姑息治疗的多学科团队方法中与其他专业人员合作时所遇到的挑战。
我们进行了以下两项研究：（1）对属于日本口腔保健学会（JSOC）的 DHs 进行了一项姑息治疗环境口腔保健问卷调查（n = 1290）；（2）对大学中的 DHs 教育情况进行了调查。本研究的项目包括：1）对 10 所大学姑息护理课程的横断面分析；2）对其中 1 所大学姑息护理教育的问卷调查（n = 75）。
（1）73%的人有姑息治疗环境下口腔保健的经验。具有≥20 年经验的 DHs 人数明显高于具有<10 年经验的 DHs（76%比 66%，p = 0.042）。此外，92%的人没有接受过正规的姑息护理教育，94%的人认为自己缺乏姑息护理知识。这些数据与经验年限无关。（2）（a）10 所大学均没有关于姑息护理主题的具体课程。有 3 所大学开设了姑息护理讲座。（b）55%的学生参加了姑息护理讲座。然而，88%的人感到焦虑，78%的人认为姑息护理课程较少。
对于 DHs 来说，要为多学科姑息治疗团队方法做出积极贡献，建立本科和研究生教育体系非常重要。
